A court in a major swing state has just issued a ruling that some observers say could change the outcome of the presidential race. A Georgia judge has overturned several rules recently enacted by the State Elections Board (SEB) that had sparked intense debate between Trump and Harris surrogates in this critical battleground. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox declared the new provisions “illegal, unconstitutional, and void” in an opinion released Wednesday evening, according to multiple sources.
His ruling followed hours of consideration of two lawsuits concerning the rules—one brought by the Georgia Democratic Party and another by civil rights groups that included both current and former GOP state officials. One of the measures, requiring all ballots to be hand-counted by three county election officials after machine tabulation to ensure the totals match, has become a political lightning rod in recent weeks. This rule was temporarily blocked in a separate ruling on Tuesday night that challenged the SEB’s new measures. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney did not dispute the rule’s intent but argued that it would be impractical at this late stage.
Cox’s ruling invalidates that measure, while also invalidating a rule directing county officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results and giving them the ability “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.” Cox also blocked new signature and photo ID requirements for individuals dropping off absentee ballots on behalf of others. The rules were approved last month in a 3-2 vote by the Republican majority on the elections board.
Democrats accused GOP officials of attempting to create doubt and chaos in the election process, while supporters of the rule changes argued that they were essential safeguards to ensure voter confidence, Fox News reported. In the broader context of the two cases on Wednesday, led by Eternal Vigilance Action—a group founded by former GOP state legislator Scot Turner—the plaintiffs contended that the SEB exceeded its authority in establishing the new rules. “Three members of the state election board, kind of like Napoleon, they put a crown on their head and say, ‘We are the emperors of election,’” the plaintiffs’ lawyer said. “No, that is not the way our system of government works.”
But supporters of the rules, including the Georgia Republican Party, argue that the board, indeed, has been empowered by the state legislature to issue the rule changes. “They don’t say which one of those statutes should be found unconstitutional because, remember, to rule in favor of the plaintiffs here, you’re going to have to find that the General Assembly’s grant of authority to the agency was unconstitutional,” a lawyer for the GOP said. It’s not clear if the ruling will be appealed to a higher Georgia court, though that seems likely.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.